What is considered cat preventive care?
Cat preventive care is all about preventing diseases. This process starts when kittens are brought in for vaccinations. It also involves considering nutrition and the foods cats eat to prevent diseases and ensure they are growing and developing normally. As they become adults, maintaining good nutrition is essential to prevent lifestyle concerns such as obesity. Additionally, care for their eyes, particularly for long-haired or smushy face cats, and dental health is important. We also need to consider whether they are indoor only or go in and out, as we need to prevent infectious diseases like flea infestations and tick-borne diseases.
Dr. Noel Lucas
Blue Oasis Pet Hospital
What are the main things you can prevent with good preventative care?
Infectious disease is one of the biggest things that we can prevent with good preventative care. Vaccinations can protect cats from common infectious diseases like feline herpes virus and calicivirus, and rabies virus. For outdoor cats, it's also important to protect them from fleas, ticks, and heartworms. Good healthy nutrition is key to a cat's overall lifestyle.
Why is it important to know my cat's routine and lifestyle well?
Cats are good at masking diseases, often hiding them until they become severe. Knowing your cat's routine and lifestyle helps you identify when something may be off. Cats can be difficult to diagnose, so they require a good physical exam and sometimes blood work to help determine what might be wrong.
What are the risks of failing to provide preventive care?
Failing to provide preventive care can shorten a cat's life. Preventive care, like a physical exam and routine blood work, allows us to find disease early and potentially change the course of the disease. If we can't, we can at least discuss managing the disease. If cats aren't brought in on a routine basis, we may miss the opportunity to detect and manage diseases early. When cats only come in when they're sick, their illness may have progressed too far, limiting our treatment options.
How often should my cat see a veterinarian?
Your cat should ideally be seen by a veterinarian once a year. If your cat hasn't been seen for a while or if you have questions about preventive care, we recommend making an appointment with your veterinarian.
If you still have other questions and you'd like to reach out to us, you can call us directly at (615) 975-2583 , or you can email us at [email protected]. But please do reach out, and we'll get back to you as fast as we can. Don't forget to follow us on social media Facebook, Instagram
Cat Preventative Care - FAQs 1
Dr. Noel Lucas
Blue Oasis Pet Hospital
What does cat preventive care really mean?
Cat preventive care means bringing your cat in for regular health exams, discussing vaccines and nutrition with your veterinarian. At home, it involves providing good nutrition, a safe lifestyle, and if the cat goes outdoors, protection from infectious diseases, fleas, ticks, and heartworms.
How does cat preventive care really help my cat?
Preventive care helps keep your cat safe from infectious diseases that we can prevent. It also allows us to detect any diseases that they're developing early so we can intervene and change the path of that disease process.
What can I do at home for a cat preventive care situation?
At home, you can provide good, healthy nutrition and portion feed your cat, especially if they are indoor cats. If your cat goes outside, you should protect them from fleas, ticks, and heartworm. Regular vaccinations are also important, with most cats getting vaccinations every three years.
How important are regular vet visits for cat preventive care?
It's important that cats see their veterinarian once a year. We conduct a thorough physical exam to check their weight, nutrition, mobility, core organ function, eyes, skin, and heart. This helps ensure they continue to stay healthy. Regular visits are crucial as we are experts at finding diseases that cats might be hiding.
Do I need to consider flea and tick prevention for my cat's care?
Yes, fleas can enter homes through screen doors and windows. If your cat likes to sit in the window and your windows are open, they can get exposed to fleas. Ticks usually come inside on clothing. Mosquitoes can also get into houses and bite pets, transmitting heartworm disease. Therefore, flea, tick, and heartworm prevention are important, especially for cats with skin issues.
What should I do if I have any questions about my cat's preventive care?
If you have any questions about your cat's preventive care, please reach out to Blue Oasis Pet Hospital for your cat's preventive care needs.
If you still have other questions and you'd like to reach out to us, you can call us directly at (615) 975-2583 , or you can email us at [email protected]. But please do reach out, and we'll get back to you as fast as we can. Don't forget to follow us on social media Facebook, Instagram